Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84506, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Biology Centre of Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Drnovská 507, 16100, Praha 6, Czech Republic.
Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 19;9(1):2253. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-38761-x.
The male accessory glands (AG) and gonoducts of moths develop during metamorphosis and are essential for successful fertilization of females. We found that these reproductive organs are innervated by a sex-specific cluster of peptidergic neurons in the posterior 9 neuromere of the terminal abdominal ganglion (TAG). This cluster of ~20 neurons differentiate during metamorphosis to innervate the accessory glands and sperm ducts. Using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization (ISH) we showed that these neurons express four neuropeptide precursors encoding calcitonin-like diuretic hormone (CT-DH), allatotropin (AT) and AT-like peptides (ATLI-III), allatostatin C (AST-C), and myoinhibitory peptides (MIPs). We used contraction bioassay in vitro to determine roles of these neuropeptides in the gonoduct and accessory gland activity. Spontaneous contractions of the seminal vesicle and AG were stimulated in a dose depended manner by CT-DH and AT, whereas AST-C and MIP elicited dose dependent inhibition. Using quantitative RT-PCR we confirmed expression of receptors for these neuropeptides in organs innervated by the male specific cluster of neurons. Our results suggest a role of these neuropeptides in regulation of seminal fluid movements during copulation.
昆虫的雄性附腺（AG）和生殖导管在变态过程中发育，对于成功受精雌性至关重要。我们发现，这些生殖器官由位于末端腹神经节（TAG）后 9 神经节的一个性别特异性肽能神经元簇支配。这个约有 20 个神经元的簇在变态过程中分化，以支配附腺和精子导管。通过免疫组织化学和原位杂交（ISH），我们表明这些神经元表达四种神经肽前体，编码降钙素样利尿激素（CT-DH）、促前胸腺激素（AT）和 AT 样肽（ATLI-III）、促前胸腺激素释放抑制因子 C（AST-C）和肌抑制肽（MIPs）。我们使用体外收缩生物测定法来确定这些神经肽在生殖导管和附腺活动中的作用。CT-DH 和 AT 以剂量依赖的方式刺激精囊和 AG 的自发性收缩，而 AST-C 和 MIP 则产生剂量依赖性抑制。通过定量 RT-PCR，我们证实了这些神经肽在受雄性特异性神经元簇支配的器官中受体的表达。我们的结果表明，这些神经肽在交配过程中调节精液运动中发挥作用。
